Power to the Infant-Toddler Profession: Implications for Parents' Access to High-Quality Care and Education

• In Event: Infant-Toddler Child Care Amidst Changing Policy Landscapes: Family Preferences, Preschool Expansion, and Provider Perspectives

Abstract

Introduction: This paper presents findings that address the urgent need for research to inform efforts to improve the supply of infant and toddler (IT) early care and education (ECE), as noted in federal policy guidance issued in 2024.[1] Research shows the critical importance of nurturing and developmentally supportive ECE in the first three years of a child's life for long-term thriving.[2] IT ECE is also important to support families’ participation in work and school.[3] Yet, limited research exists about how efforts to professionalize the IT ECE workforce are or are not related to parents’ preferences for IT ECE that supports their participation in work and school. This paper addresses this gap by answering questions about the context of IT ECE in each state and nationally and about IT ECE workforce professionalization and how this relates to parents’ preferences.

Methods: We analyzed data from the American Community Survey (ACS), Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA), and each state’s Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) to answer questions about IT ECE in each state and nationally. We estimated factor and regression analysis of the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) to answer questions about professionalization and parents’ preferences at the national level.

Preliminary results: Analysis of ACS, CCAoA, and CCDF plan data reveals variation across states in IT ECE in potential demand for IT ECE, costs, and policies about IT ECE professionalization. Analysis of 2019 NSECE shows differences and similarities in professionalization among home-based and center-based IT ECE providers. We find home-based IT ECE providers are similar to center-based providers in education, degree attainment, and professional development participation. Yet, home-based providers have lower enrollment in college, lower health insurance access, but more years of experience when compared to center-based IT ECE. By summer 2025, we will finalize all analysis of parents’ preferences of IT ECE and comparisons of how this relates to professionalization.

Implications: This paper provides important context about IT ECE nationally and across states that can inform state ECE policies. This, and evidence about how IT ECE professionalization relates to families’ preferences, can inform ECE policies that address the complex societal problem of providing ECE services to families with infants and toddlers.

[1] Office of Child Care. (2024). Overview of 2024 CCDF Final Rule. Administration for Children and Families. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/occ/Overview_of_2024_CCDF_Final_Rule.pdf and Office of Head Start (2024). Final Rule on Supporting the Head Start Workforce and Consistent Quality Programming – Technical Updates (ACF-OHS-PI-24-06). https://headstart.gov/policy/pi/acf-ohs-pi-24-05

[2] Tierney, A. L., & Nelson, C. A. (2009). Brain Development and the Role of Experience in the Early Years. Zero to Three, 30(2), 9–13 and Shonkoff, J. P., & Phillips, D. A. (Eds.). (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. National Academy Press.

[3] Banghart, P., Halle, T., Bamdad, T., Cook, M., Redd, Z., Alexandra, C., & Carlson, J. (2020). A Review of the Literature on Access to High-Quality Care for Infants and Toddlers. Child Trends. https://cms.childtrends.org/wp content/uploads/2020/05/HighQualityCareLitReview_ChildTrends_May2020.pdf

Authors

• Laura Betancur, Urban Institute
  Presenting Author

• Erica Greenberg, Urban Institute
  Non-Presenting Co-Author